Survey: MN 2nd Least Affordable Midwestern State For Rent

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A new report says minimum wage workers do not make enough money to find affordable rent in Minnesota.

According to the “Out of Reach 2015” report, Minnesota is the second least-affordable state in the Midwest. Illinois was first in that category.

Rent is considered affordable when a person doesn’t have to spend more than 30 percent of their income.

At $8 an hour, which is the state’s current minimum wage, what would be considered affordable rent would be about $400 a month. But rent for a modest one-bedroom apartment in Minnesota is just over $700 a month, according to the report.

Nationally, Minnesota ranks in the middle, coming in at 21st. The least affordable state in which to live is Hawaii, followed by District of Columbia, California, and New York. The most affordable areas in the U.S. to live are in Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, South Dakota, and Iowa.

The report also said that there is no single state in the U.S. where someone making minimum wage could rent affordable housing on a 40-hour work week.